


Lily of the Valley

by SnowyK



Series: Sapphic September 2018 [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hinata wants closure and to make her own way, Ino is a bisexual mess, M/M, Multi, Naruto Femslash Week 2018, Naruto needs to stop running from his problems, Sapphic September 2018, uzushi0
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 04:06:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15922532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowyK/pseuds/SnowyK
Summary: Hinata wants to know if Naruto sees a future for them and enlists Ino for help, which goes well until they're both stuck in her body. Ino isn't one to let this stop them.





	Lily of the Valley

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the uzushio event Sapphic September, for the prompt body sharing.

Ino’s arranging the roses one of her cousins had just delivered when the doorbell rings. “One moment!” she calls, adjusting them until she’s satisfied. Hands on her hips, she turns to find the store empty. “Hello?” Suspicion doesn’t seem to fit inside the humble flower shop but it hangs from her shoulders like a coat as she walks towards the door, steps soundless on the tiled floor.

A hushed breath behind her and Ino spins neatly, kunai already in her fingers and a moment’s hesitation from being thrown – straight at Hinata, who’s cowering behind a cluster of small trees. Ino slips the kunai back into her thigh holster with a sigh but Hinata doesn’t seem to relax in the slightest.

“Hey, Hinata,” Ino greets, bringing her customer service voice back with a smile. “Didn’t know you were there! Well, until just then.”

A light flush colours her cheeks as she ducks her head. “T-that’s okay, Ino-san. I should’ve… said something.”

Ino shrugs and gestures for Hinata to follow her to a table of cut flowers. “Are you after something in particular? We’ve got some lovely chrysanthemums.”

Hinata trails behind her, hands tucked into her sleeves. Ino almost feels pity for her shyness when she suddenly looks up, determination lighting her pale eyes. “A-actually! I came for you!”

Her heart actually flutters, though Ino’s pretty sure that’s not what she meant. “Why Hinata, I’m not a flower! Unless you want me in another way?” she waggles her eyebrows, unable to resist the tease for the life of her. Sure enough, Hinata’s blush deepens and her eyes widen with – not horror, not quite, but something Ino wishes she could decode.

“I-Ino-san!” Hinata jerks like she wants to turn away, but visibly steels herself. “I! Um, actually, I came to ask a favour.”

“Just Ino’s fine,” she smiles, flicking her ponytail over her shoulder. Hinata’s eyes glance away to follow the movement, just for an instant. It’s a little disconcerting, looking for a pupil to focus her gaze on, but this close her eyes are a light shade of lilac, almost like a flattened pearl sits in her eyes. “What’s the favour?”

Hinata goes to cross her arms but aborts the movement. She’s trying to curb her nervous tics, Ino realises, though her hands still clutch at her sleeves like it’s her only lifeline. “I. With Neji-niisan’s promise… it sounded like…” she pauses, anguish twisting her mouth and Ino would immediately bring her into a hug if they were any closer. “Like… N-Naruto-kun was meaning to… to be with me,” she says in a rush, and then her words come so fast Ino has to work to catch them. “Which would’ve been nice, and it’s not like I didn’t appreciate it, but we’re young and I don’t think we should move into something like that so quickly, and he’s been so close, to his team, and I don’t know what’s happening and I don’t know how to ask!” She catches her breath, cheeks still flushed red and eyes bright with passion. Ino half expects her to follow that with an apology, for rambling or her raised voice, but she doesn’t and Ino’s perception of her bumps up a rank.

Ino blinks slowly, matching that up with the gossip she’d heard- Sasuke’s staying in the village for the time being until the aftermath of the war had settled a little more and he wouldn’t immediately be branded as a missing-nin immediately if he left again, and he and Naruto had been almost attached at the hip ever since. There’d always been something between them, and Ino can see why Hinata isn’t sure of what’s happening anymore, and whenever she’d brought up the topic Sakura would change it again so swiftly Ino isn’t certain she’d recognise the diversion for what it was if she wasn’t been groomed to take her father’s place.

“Why don’t you ask him?” Ino asks, fingers caressing the nearby flowers. They linger on a white carnation and she picks the smallest one, cutting it with a quick brush against a kunai. She dries it with a hand and threads it behind Hinata’s ear.

Hand reaching for the flower, Hinata watches her with surprise. “I’ve tried, but I- it doesn’t come out right, so I don’t get an answer.”

Ino hums, assessing the flower in her hair. Innocence and a good luck gift, but somehow it doesn’t seem as fitting as she’d thought. She eyes the cyclamen – resignation and goodbye – but even though she doubts that won’t be the end result, she deems it too early. “Did you want me to ask? He may run away though. Can’t imagine why,” she drawls, and really, continued exposure to Sakura and Tsunade should’ve improved his capacity for talking to strong women, but any mention of his love life and he comes up with an excuse worthy of his _teacher_ and disappears. Rude, really.

“That… that isn’t exactly what I wanted to ask,” Hinata says, her voice a little more confident now that she’s spoken a little more. It probably helps that Ino’s eyes aren’t entirely focused on her too, she muses as she inspects the collection of flowers. A hollyhock, maybe, for ambition. Or lily of the valley for sweetness, though she’s not sure how well it’d braid into hair.

“What did you want to ask?” Ino settles for a purple violet for devotion, cutting it to size and swapping it with the carnation in Hinata’s hair. Her fingers linger a moment too long, sifting through the glossy black strands. She tucks the carnation behind her own ear to pretend it didn’t happen.

“I was wondering if…” Hinata grips at her sleeves again and takes half a step closer. “If you’d possess me to ask him.” Ino’s eyes widen, because wow that’s certainly not the request she’d expected, and Hinata hastens to add, “Sorry if it’s weird! But I can’t ask right and he won’t reply to a letter and I just want to get this sorted.” The flower is already starting to slip and before she realises it Ino’s reached out and begun to braid it into a lock of her hair.

“You’re more of a badass than I thought,” Ino grins, watching the smooth black tresses as they wind around her fingers, cool and soft as silk. She fishes a hair-tie out of her apron’s pocket and finishes it off with a satisfied hum. “Sounds like fun. I’m in!”

“R-really?” Hinata’s face is heavily flushed and Ino likes the look more than she means to. “O-okay! When?”

“No time like the present!” Ino regretfully releases her hair and heads to the door, changing the sign over to closed. “Let’s go to the back, my body should be safe there.”

Hinata follows her, hands twisting together nervously. “You say that so- so casually.”

Ino can feel her starting to close off, draw back into herself with her lowered eyes and quiet words, so she slings an arm over her shoulders and practically marches her to the back room. “Years of practise! Anyway, I can put your mind in my body if you’re worried.” She sits down, carefully angling her body so she won’t injure herself when she collapses.

“If you don’t mind,” Hinata says quietly. She sits beside her, fingers fidgeting with her sleeve restlessly. “I’m ready.”

“Okay! Operation Make Naruto Face Reality, a go!” Ino cries, forming the hand seal and directing her energy to Hinata. There’s a crash behind her Hinata’s chakra flashes, catching her consciousness as it leaves her body and heads straight for hers. There’s screaming, somewhere, distant as Ino readjusts to a different body. She opens her eyes to see herself slumped over the couch, utterly unconscious. There’s a cat on her shoulder, yowling and demanding attention. It catches her eyes and starts to scream again.

**_That stupid cat followed me._ **

Ino blinks. “Hinata?” She reaches out with her consciousness, feeling for the small corner where Hinata should be if she’s still in the same body- but instead of a box she finds a mountain, a consciousness as strong as her own.

 ** _I’m sorry!_** That’s absolutely Hinata’s voice, but it sounds strange inside her skull, like the difference of hearing her own voice on a recording but reversed. **_That cat was outside the compound, and I feed it sometimes, and I guess it followed me. I- your body! Are you okay?_**

“I’m fine, I’ll just do it again,” Ino says. She moves to end the technique, but –

Nothing.

Ino is pretty sure this has happened before – her father, and the thought has a pang of hurt as usual but she endures it, had mentioned it as he taught her the Mind Body Switch Technique. “We’re stuck for a bit,” she says out loud to calm her nerves. “It’ll be okay. It’ll let us switch back soon.”

 ** _Oh, okay._** Hinata sounds calm but Ino can sense her reservations like they’re her own. **_When?_**

Ino should probably consult one of the Yamanaka elders, but she honestly would rather see the look on Naruto’s face when Hinata interrogates him. “Plan B- dump my body and find Naruto!”

Hinata’s energy pulses with shock as Ino gathers her body and leaps out the window, pausing only to activate the traps before she’s off. **_This is going to look really weird!_**

 _Or really awesome!_ Ino cheers in their mental link, cradling her body to Hinata’s carefully. She reaches out and senses Shikamaru’s chakra in his compound – she heads there first, leaping over the traps as she always does and drops her body right on top of him.

“Hey!” Shikamaru leans away from the shōgi board but dutifully catches her body, protecting her head. “What are you – Hinata? What are you doing with Hinata?”

“Sorting out relationship issues!” Ino declares, giving Chōji a wave before leaving them spluttering with unanswered questions.

 ** _Is it really okay to leave them like that?_** Hinata’s voice is subdued but curious.

“They’re used to it,” Ino shrugs, waving at a Nara jōnin as she leaves the way she entered – namely, illegally. “Now let’s get to it! Where is he?”

Hinata’s consciousness radiates anxiety but at the core of it is determination hard as steel. It has its own kind of beauty, and Ino admires it as she follows Hinata’s direction.

They didn’t need to put effort into finding him, honestly, his voice is loud and carries on the wind. They find him where she expected him to be, taking up a stall in Ichiraku with two empty bowls in front of him. Sasuke and Sakura are both next to them, and Ino hangs back a little to watch them as well as she can with the banner blocking part of the view. Sakura is talking in equal turns with Naruto, her shoulders relaxed and gaze fond. Sasuke seems to be ignoring him, but Naruto leans into him at one point and he doesn’t move away.

 ** _They seem close,_** Hinata says again, and Ino doesn’t even flinch with surprise even though she’d half-forgotten she was there despite her consciousness being so present. She feels warm, almost, like being under her duvet when she wakes and it’s the most comfortable thing in the world. There’s a spark of shock in her consciousness and –

She… can feel her emotions too. Did that last thought come _across?_ Ino isn’t sure whether she wanted it to or not. “Close is one thing, but their team has always been on another level.” Ino watches them, trying not to figure out which of them is making their shared heart speed up, and sees Naruto place a hand on Sakura’s thigh. Her mouth drops as Sakura not only fails to push it away and punch him, but leans closer with a smile and a raised eyebrow. They seem wrapped in each other for a long moment until Sasuke interrupts them, leaning in and what’s left of his arm bumps against Naruto’s shoulder. It’s an entirely different form of intimacy between them and Ino can only find one, utterly unbelievable yet _entirely believable_ conclusion. “Oh my gosh, they’re fucking.”

Hinata’s consciousness ripples with surprise, but – the core is unmoved. Ino’s shocked to feel resignation there, and its seamless blend with the chains that must be her tie to Naruto suggest it’s been there for a while.

“You _knew?!_ ” Ino’s too shocked to keep her voice inside her head but the loved-up threesome doesn’t pay her any attention. A nearby pigeon levels her with an unimpressed glare and takes flight.

 ** _I– suspected_** , Hinata says, and her voice is as steady as her resolve. Ino can feel it filling her body, beating with her heart with the same certainty she has that the sun will always rise. **_When we first came back, he said. He interpreted Neji-niisan’s words as a promise to protect me, since I would give my life for him,_** and Ino’s unsettled by the abrupt storm of grief and regret, and then a wash of loyalty and strength. She presses closer and feels Hinata’s consciousness open up in response, letting her in and enveloping her with reassurance, which. She should be the one comforting _her_ , damnit! Another wave of emotion, amusement and fondness this time, and Hinata continues, **_and he asked if we could date. I asked him to think on it, and now it’s been a few months and when I try to ask he won’t talk about it._**

Ino isn’t really surprised by that, not really. If there’s one thing she knows about Naruto it’s that he hates disappointing people, and rejection is certainly a part of that. _Let’s find out_ , she thinks with the kind of tenacity that makes Shikamaru groan and question the women in his life.

She marches straight up to them, flicking the paper banner out of her way with fingers that are just a little bit shorter than her own. “Naruto,” she says, and maybe she was supposed to be acting but her voice has just a touch too much confidence for Hinata. Or maybe not, because Naruto flinches and slowly turns to face her, retrieving his hands from both Sakura _and_ Sasuke’s thighs.

“Hinata!” he says, his grin too forced and his eye twitching nervously. Ino can see why Hinata came to her for help.

 _He can beat up a combination of chakra demons but he can’t turn a girl down_ , Ino thinks, unamused.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you on your date,” she says, just to see his eyes widen with panic and watch him flail for words. Sakura’s watching her with suspicion evident in her narrowed eyes and Sasuke ignores her entirely. Ino wonders if he and Hinata have ever even _spoken_.

 ** _No_** , Hinata pipes up. She seems less nervous now, as content as she can be to watch beside her. **_There’s never been need for us to speak._**

Ino can’t relate, having always been the ‘if there’s no need to speak, create a reason’ kind of girl. She matches that up with Naruto’s apparent tendency to flee from difficult social situations and briefly imagines the train-wreck their relationship would be. A beautiful disaster, truly.

There’s an echo of regret but Hinata seems to agree.

“It’s not a – well, kinda, but! Not formally! I mean, would it be bad if it was a date? No! That’s- I’ve been meaning to, um.” Naruto’s eyes dart about and Ino can definitely see why Hinata asked for help.

“Could I speak to you privately?” she asks, taking a little pity on him.

She needn’t have tried, apparently, since Sakura rolls her eyes. “It won’t be private if you’re there, Ino.”

Well, fuck. _Sorry Hinata_ , Ino thinks ruefully. _She knows me too well_.

 ** _It’s okay_** , Hinata replies, and her words are followed by a rush of forgiveness that warms Ino right to her borrowed toes. **_My speech patterns are… a little unique._**

If Ino were any less certain of her abilities as a ninja, she’d consider her performance a total failure- though between Sakura knowing both of them and Ino’s investment in making Naruto squirm, it may have been a doomed mission from the start.

Naruto’s widen with honest shock and Ino can’t help but smile, because strong as he is his perception could always use the rest of his team. “Ino?!”

“Both of us, actually,” Ino admits. Sasuke glances over his shoulder with more interest than he’s ever shown Ino, but for once she doesn’t care. _Can I speak freely?_

Hinata doesn’t even hesitate. **_Of course!_**

“Okay so, Hinata said something you said could be interpreted as you intending to date her, but then you were flaky as hell and she couldn’t pin you down, so she asked me for help. Then there was a cat and we both got stuck in her body and we can’t reverse it. Yet. Thought we’d deal with you first though since that’s why we’re in this situation to begin with,” Ino says, hands on her hips and the buffer of her jacket against her usually bare waist is a mild surprise.

“A cat?” Naruto blinks, and of _course_ that’s what the idiot would focus on. _Hinata, you deserve way more._ She doesn’t answer, but Ino can feel their shared heart beat faster, and that’s _interesting_.

Sakura drags her hand down her face with a long-suffering expression. “Naruto, you didn’t notice? You’re supposed to know Hinata better than us.”

Naruto has the decency to flush. “Yeah, well,”

“Even I knew something was up,” Sasuke says, finishing his ramen. Hinata’s consciousness gives a flash of astonishment and Ino can’t help herself. _Maybe you should speak to him. You’re both the quiet type, but I think you’d actually get along._

 ** _If I could speak without stuttering_** , Hinata says, and for the first time Ino catches the hint of dissatisfaction with herself.

 _Girl, stick with me and you’ll be a smooth operator in no time._ Ino presses her own consciousness closer and is pleased to feel Hinata open up a little more. “Naruto, tell me straight. Do you want to date Hinata or not. It’s okay if you don’t, but it’s not fair to string her along like this.”

Sakura abruptly looks furious. “You didn’t talk to her? You said you were going to!”

Ino feels no sympathy to the knock to the head Naruto earns. “I was trying! But, I’m,” he deflates with a sigh and finally meets her gaze. “Hinata, I’m sorry. I don’t think I can be the right guy for you.”

Ino steps to the side and lets Hinata speak. “Thank you, Na- Naruto. That’s all I wanted to know. I- I want us both to be… happy.”

It’s unusual to hear her stutter after hearing her speak so confidently through their mental link. But now Ino knows it’s in there and she has the sudden but not unwelcome burning desire to earn that level of familiarity with Hinata.

Part of Ino wants to say _there, was that so hard?_ But she can see the discomfort in Naruto’s face, the anguish with disappointing someone he cares about in his eyes, and knowing his history –

She can’t say it. “Well now that that’s done, we’ll go reverse this and have a girl’s night. You guys can punish him for flaunting his relationship in public while he had loose ends.”

Sakura cracks her knuckles and Naruto pales, leans closer to Sasuke who snaps his disposable chopstick in half right behind Naruto’s ear.

Ino leaves the disaster that is team seven behind, leaving Hinata to her own quiet thoughts as she returns to her compound. Shikamaru is there, speaking with one of the Yamanaka elders. She spots her body lying on an array of cushions and smiles, pleased that Shikamaru can do what she needs him to without specifically being asked.

Hikaru’s wrinkles are more pronounced when he smiles. “Ino. I was wondering when this would happen.”

Ino crosses her arms with an exaggerated scowl. It must look more intimidating than she means it to because Chōji edges away from her. “When it’d happen? I’m not a Genin anymore, Hikaru.” It’s strange to leave off the honorifics now that’s she’s Clan Head, but she has to get used to it sooner or later.

Her gut twists with a sharp anguish for her father. Hinata’s presence wraps around her, soothing her through it – and it strikes Ino, then, that she and Shikamaru aren’t the only ones dealing with the grief of losing family.

“It’s a common mishap with the technique, as far as mishaps go.” Hikaru tugs on his beard with thought. “Your grandfather had it and got stuck with his teammate on a mission. Tell you what, they got along a lot better afterwards.”

Ino senses a long story coming and decides to cut it short. “Why hasn’t this happened before? If it’s common shouldn’t someone have told me about it?”

Hikaru shrugs and Ino gets the distinct sense she’s being played with. “You need some kind of bond for it to happen. Not common to get that with an enemy.”

“But we hardly know each other,” Ino protests, and though it’s true she finds her chest tightening with frustration at herself, because she’d never persisted in getting to know her past the stutter. Hinata must understand the sentiment because she leans a little closer, letting the edges of their consciousnesses blend together in a mimic of an embrace.

Shikamaru’s eyes brighten and Ino just knows she’s not going to like what he says next. “Attraction counts as a bond.”

Ino’s mouth opens to protest, but nothing comes out – when had she- when had _he_ \- what. She reaches out to Hinata and her essence is on _fire_. “What,” is all she manages to say.

Shikamaru doesn’t do more than smirk but she knows he’s laughing at her. “You need a different set of hand seals to reverse it.”

Hikaru shows her the sequence of seals, including the one or initiating the technique instead of ending it, and Ino repeats it towards her own body. Her soul tears from Hinata with a gasp and she wakes to see the ceiling, panting with the odd sensation of being half empty. She glances over to see Hinata standing to the side, hand pressed over her chest.

“Welcome back, Ino,” Chōji says kindly, handing over his open bag of chips. Ino takes one with a sigh, feeling sluggish after not being in her own body for a while.

“I need a nap,” Shikamaru declares, heading off without another word.

With the heaviness of her limbs, Ino’s inclined to agree. She forces herself to her feet, thanks Hikaru and takes determined steps to Hinata. “Would you like to stay over tonight?” Ino wants to add an excuse, like recovering from the technique or making sure there’s no side effects, but the memory of being almost bonded with Hinata stops her.

Hinata’s cheeks pinken but she nods with a small smile. “I’d like that.”

 

* * *

 

Truthfully, Ino hasn’t had a proper sleepover since she was little. Sakura doesn’t count because she’d break in and declare her traps pitiful and compound security abysmal, and they’d fight and argue before relaxing and actually talking.

Ino had entertained being with Sakura, if she was honest with herself, but Sakura had never grown out of her attraction to Sasuke even as she became stronger and more sure of herself. And then she’d gotten closer to Naruto as well and Ino had to fold when she realised she didn’t have a chance.

Even so, there was a level of comfort with Sakura that meant she didn’t care about her hair, or the state of her room or how close they were when they slept. Most of the time, anyway.

But having Hinata in her room feels intimate in way Ino is used to talking about but not _feeling_ , and her heart won’t quite calm down as she watches Hinata take in the paintings on the wall. “You can shower first, if you want,” she says. The flower is still in Hinata’s hair, the deep purple a perfect complement to her _everything_.

Okay, she might have a crush. And if she had it before then Hinata probably noticed.

That’s… not as terrible as it could be.

“You can go first,” Hinata smiles, settling to sit at the end of her bed. She pulls a scroll out of her pocket in a clear gesture to busy herself and Ino grabs a sleep shirt and pants, nearly forgetting her underwear and bra in her haste to get to the bathroom.

She glances at the mirror and she’s a _mess_ ; her eyes have bags that are unfair given she was unconscious, which should count as sleeping, damnit, and her hair is a mess. The carnation is still in her hair, pure love and innocence.

She showers quickly, drying her hair with a towel as best as she can. She tucks the flower back into her hair, since it’d be a shame to let it go to waste when it still looks fresh.

Hinata is focused on the scroll when she returns, her face serious even with the violet making her face even more beautiful. She looks up and her expression eases into a warm smile that hits Ino like a punch to the gut. “Welcome back,” she says, and it’s the same words that Chōji used but they make Ino’s heart decide she needs the blood supply needed to climb a damn mountain.

“Thanks,” she smiles back, wondering what Hinata thinks of her. Her cheeks settle into another blush, and Ino’s seen at least ten today but doesn’t think she’ll ever get tired of them. “I’ll get you some clothes.” She gathers a loose-fitting shirt and sweatpants, then hesitates. “Do you need underwear?” she asks, starting to feel bad for inviting Hinata over without giving her time to prepare.

Hinata’s face flushes even further but she seems to have thought of this before, because she simply nods with a simple, “Please.”

Ino fishes through her underwear drawer to find one that’s relatively new and adds it to the clothing pile. Their bra sizes are probably different so she doesn’t even try.

Hinata takes the clothes with a smile, cheeks still hot, and heads to the bathroom.

Ino dives face-first onto the bed and tries to be less outrageously bisexual.

It doesn’t work.

She tidies up the bedroom even though Hinata’s already seen it and walks to the kitchen, surprised to see a couple of take-out boxes. She spots a note and plucks it out of the bag curiously.

_Good luck and make a move this time._

Ino rolls her eyes but serves the stir-fry and takes the bowls to her room. She sets it on the bedside table and waits for Hinata, passing the time with one of the novels she started but left behind in favour of a mission.

Hinata pads quietly into the room, making just enough noise to alert Ino to her presence. Ino looks up with a friendly smile and has to fight to keep it that way because seeing Hinata in _her_ clothes sends a wave of heat straight down her spine.

She still has the flower in her hair, too.

Ino is absolutely and utterly doomed.

“Oh! We have food,” Hinata says with a smile, looking so honestly happy by such a small thing.

Ino hands her the bowl and even though she knows Hinata is perfectly capable of taking care of herself, she feels the urge to protect her.

They eat with quiet conversation, and usually Ino would be louder and more talkative but with Hinata the silences lean more towards comfortable than an awkward void that needs to be filled as soon as possible.

“Thank you, for today,” Hinata says softly. Ino hums around the last of her food, trying to focus on the fried meat smell instead of the floral scent wafting from Hinata’s hair. It strikes her that she must’ve used her shampoo, and that the smell is stronger on her despite being the same product throws Ino for a loop.

“You’re welcome,” Ino says, putting her bowl to the side. “He needed to stop avoiding you.”

Hinata’s smile is wry and she twists her fingers together, the nervous tic abruptly making Ino realise Hinata’s hardly been stuttering since they’ve been alone together. The wash of pride is just as sudden. “I knew the answer. I just… didn’t want to face it… alone,” she finishes, her voice small.

Ino senses an undercurrent of grief to her words and is reminded yet again of the loss they share. “It wasn’t fair on you,” she says, taking her bowl and stacking it on top of her own. “And for that I’m sorry. I know we haven’t spoken, much, but I hope you’ll consider me your friend.”

Hinata’s eyes widen a fraction with surprise and she tucks her hair behind her ear. “That would be. I’d love to be your friend, Ino.”

Ino leans a little closer to readjust the violet in her hair. “Then it’s a good thing you are,” she grins, fingers already tugging strands together to pull the flower’s stem into a braid. Hinata hesitates for a moment, then reaches out to return the favour.

Ino’s played with the hair of several of her friends, but none of them made her belly explode with butterflies or her kunoichi fingers threaten to tremble. This close and without the distraction of food, all she can smell is the combination of floral products Hinata must use.

Shikamaru’s words run through her head. Ino could wait, see how things play out, but she’d felt Hinata’s distance during their confrontation with Naruto, _knew_ she wasn’t totally invested in him. And when they’d shared her body, there was a connection between the that Ino had never felt when she possessed someone, not even Sakura.

They’re even closer and Ino doesn’t know when it happened. “Ino-chan,” Hinata says, and the gentle caress of her name has her heart going into overdrive – screw going up a mountain, her heart thinks she’s going to jump to the _moon_. “I hope this isn’t too forward of me. May I. May I court you?”

Now Ino is blushing, and she’s still holding Hinata’s hair in her fingers. “C-court me?” Damn it, _she’s_ supposed to be the confident one!

Hinata smiles, but it’s not mocking at all. It’s a lovely thing, and Ino has to force herself to focus. “If I’m not mistaken, you. L-like me. And I… like you too.” She swallows, and Ino’s eyes can’t help but flit to her throat. “So if you’d like to…”

Ino doesn’t need to be told twice. “I’d love to, Hinata-chan,” she says, letting Hinata brighten at the name for a second before she leans closer to kiss the corner of her mouth. “I’d love that very much.”

**Author's Note:**

> I got invested and finished this at 2am even though I have an aerial hoops performance tonight with a twisted ankle, oops. I hope you enjoyed this! Listening to any of Hayley Kiyoko's very gay songs will drive me through this entire month, I'm sure.
> 
> Also Ino literally has like 2 clan members who aren't her parents, spouse or children so I made one up.


End file.
